It’s been more than four years since 1-year-old Jace Wallace was left in his caregiver’s hot car for more than seven hours, and he was later pronounced dead on the scene. Jace’s mother, Makia Wallace, says that not a day goes by that she doesn’t miss her baby boy.
“Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. This wasn’t a bad dream, but a reality,” Wallace recounted. “Losing a child isn’t something I would wish on anyone.”
On Thursday morning, Wallace took the time alongside Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, child safety experts, and other community leaders to raise awareness about the importance of hot car safety in the coming summer months.
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“You’ve gotta take care of that beautiful gift from God, that child that you’ve been given,” stressed Brian Gilligan, the medical director at Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department. “They’re our future right there, and it’s tragic when something like this happens.”
Additionally, only Texas has had more children die from hot cars than Florida since 1990 – according to the organization “Kids and Cars” - further highlighting the importance of always being aware who’s in the backseat, as a majority of hot car deaths are often completely accidental.
“[It’s important] having some sort of deliberate strategy to help remember you’ve got the child in the back,” Gilligan explained. “Leaving your purse, or your briefcase, or your backpack, or your phone, stay off the phone, leave it in the backseat. And when you get out and get to where you’re going, look in the backseat, grab your stuff, you’ve got your child, and then lock your car.”
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Gilligan also stressed that no errand, no matter how quick, is worth risking a child’s life over, adding that a cracked window won’t get in the way of tragedy striking.
“Studies have shown that doesn’t make a difference,” Gilligan said Thursday. “We all think it does, but it really doesn’t. And that temperature still continues to heat up.”
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